Edouard Manet

Biography

Manet was born into an affluent Parisian family, and was encouraged by his uncle to pursue a career in the arts. Manet received initial training from the history painter Thomas Couture, but quickly became dissatisfied with conventional painting. He was attracted to modern subjects; scenes of the café, boulevard, and racetrack, and both the lofty and poor souls who inhabited Paris. He painted these scenes on large canvases, celebrating modern life on a heroic scale. Many of Manet’s works caused shock and controversy, most notably his famous nude ‘Olympia’. His politically charged painting and prints also drew censorship from authorities. Only later in his life did Manet receive recognition for his artistic contribution, and is regarded by some as the father of Impressionism.

Édouard Manet (US: or UK: ; French: [edwaʁ manɛ]; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, and a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.
Born into an upper-class household with strong political connections, Manet rejected the future originally envisioned for him, and became engrossed in the world of painting. His early masterworks, The Luncheon on the Grass (Le déjeuner sur l'herbe) and Olympia, both 1863, caused great controversy and served as rallying points for the young painters who would create Impressionism. Today, these are considered watershed paintings that mark the start of modern art. The last 20 years of Manet's life saw him form bonds with other great artists of the time, and develop his own style that would be heralded as innovative and serve as a major influence for future painters.

Generally considered an important artist of the Realist tradition who influenced and was influenced by the Impressionist painters of the 1870s. He never exhibited with the Impressionists or adopted fully their ideas and procedures. His painting is famous for its painterly technique and his paintings and prints are known for new urban subject-matter. He had a short career, but his style evolved from early works characterized by dramatic light-dark contrasts and based on Spanish 17th-century painting to high-keyed, freely brushed compositions where the content was related to Symbolism.